The present invention concerns a method for the treatment of an elongated agricultural produce, such as vegetables, as well as a device for carrying out this method.
The method according to the invention finds application in particular in the machines for cutting off the ends of vegetables such as French beans or in vegetable sorting machines for example for French beans.
There has been known a machine for cutting off the ends of French beans, of the type comprising essentially a rotary treatment drum whose longitudinal axis is inclined with respect to a horizontal line in order to obtain the progression of the French beans from the upper inlet end to the lower outlet end of the drum. The drum is formed of plaquettes, for example of a special synthetic material, with specially designed slots to provide an optimal cutting off of the ends of French beans during the rotation of the drum with the aid of a system with cutters arranged outside the drum. Due to the rotation of the drum, the French beans are brought continually to the top of the drum and fall towards the present bottom of the drum. However, due to the great height of fall of the French beans and to their impact speed against the present bottom surface in motion of the drum, a deterioration of the French beans occurs, in particular due to the abrasion on the surface in motion of the bottom of the drum.
Such a phenomenon occurs also in the case of a French beans sorting machine.